Winter Story
by Lia6
Summary: Who is leaving mysterious footsteps at Naruto's door? And what really happened on the bridge with Haku? The love triangle reaches a confrontation. YAOI NaruxSasu, NaruxSaku, SakuxSasu?
1. Mysterious Footsteps in the Snow

WINTER STORY  
  
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto, but Mr. Kishimoto Masashi sure does. This story has been fabricated only for recreational purposes, and no monetary gain is produced from it. In other words: no point in suing, right???  
  
NOTE TO KOKORO KAKERA HP: I have to hand props to Kokoro Kakera HP, who is writing (I'm not sure if it's finished, because I haven't finished reading it yet!) "Three Pieces of An Annoyingly Difficult Puzzle" (nice title, of course). Her idea of rotating the three main characters is basically the big inspiration for this story's structure. Puff Daddy called his use of other people's songs as "track interpolation" while others viewed it as merely stealing. Well, Kokora, please just view this as "story idea interpolation" or at least "stealing that flatters."  
  
NOTE TO READER: These chapters will not be divided by viewpoint. Each chapter should have at least three points of view. Also, this takes place after the Haku/Zabuza story arc. I don't know if there ever is winter in the Konoha Village area, but let's pretend! Also, a lot of the story's tension comes from unresolved issues from the fight with Haku. Revelations discovered, secrets revealed, emotions shown, that sort of thing. Unfortunately, Sasuke's piece is sort of at an oblique angle. I can't really reveal too much of his mindset early on. Dang, sorry this note is so long!  
  
CHAPTER ONE  
  
NARUTO  
  
The training days were over. All winter, the determined trio endured trials in very uncomfortable wintry conditions. They jogged in brooks at the crack of dawn, climbed trees with a frozen sheen cast over them, and sparred while slashing through piles of snow. It was a time that cooled down passions that were initially ruining the team.  
*"To protect a precious person."*  
*"How am I supposed to know..?"*  
*"I never asked for your help!" *(1)  
  
For two of the three teammates, these voices rang through their heads.  
Naruto noticed the changes. The anger, the competition, and the jealousy never subsided. It was all merely re-channeled. Naruto also noticed something strange. Sakura was a very pretty girl. He always knew she was cute, but she suddenly altered so quickly in front of him she was almost devastating. Some girls looked their most beautiful when smiling; others when they were angry. Sakura was beautiful when sad. When her face was cast in sorrow and tragedy, eyes wrapped in tears, she was enchanting to look upon.  
These days, she grew in loveliness. Before, the girl prided herself on not being involved in the strange rivalry between Naruto and Sasuke. Now, it was a function of exclusion. Because she held no rivalry with either of her teammates, she was left out. This happened before, but never to this extent. This winter, the indirect intensity between Naruto and Sasuke was silent and full of a tacit grief. But Sakura was interpreting things the wrong way, Naruto thought. She was misreading Sasuke's hostility towards Naruto as a sort of misguided, hidden affection or even love.  
It wasn't like that.  
Despite the petty squabbles, Naruto appreciated his friendship with Sakura, even to the point of empathizing with her infatuation with the Uchiha survivor. He didn't want the girl to suffer over a misunderstanding. No way in hell Sasuke was interested in Naruto. or Sakura for that matter, he admitted to himself.  
Naruto thought about all of this on the way home from another wintry day of training. The falling snow was light and feathery, coating the ground further at a slight rate. His face blistered from the blasts of arctic wind, his nose running from the cold, and his hair even more chaotic to behold, he was certainly a sight to see. *If Sasuke could only see me now,* Naruto thought to himself.  
*Well, that's a strange thought to have, Self.*  
*Oh, shut up.*  
*Sounds like someone's in denial. You sure you got that whole set of rivalry rules down pat.*  
*Shut your face.*  
*But, isn't having a crush on your rival a sort of violation of those rules?*  
Naruto decided that having conversations with oneself was not a worthwhile pastime. OK, the boy was easy on the eyes. He was a sort of model of excellent standards for fighting and good looks. So, Naruto had a measure to use in terms of fighting. . . looks, OK, no. But personality? No way in frickin' hell. The boy couldn't hold a decent conversation if life depended on it. Even more, the guy was a flat-out jerk. It's possible that the boy had gone through the entire lexicon of insults in the manner he addressed Naruto. OK, Naruto was the dead-last in the Academy, but after almost two years of teamwork, it didn't appear necessary to mention it over and over again.  
Pounding a fist into his palm, his thoughts of hatred regenerated.  
Yup, he hated him.  
Was it fair for him to treat he--and sometimes Sakura--as nothing more than mere obstacles to his precious mission in life? Sure, it was a hefty obligation for one boy to pursue. And it was incredibly lonely and most likely very painful. But, ugh, that smir--well, he had to get over it.  
He was catching up to him after all.  
Smirking to himself, he shifted the weight of his knapsack onto her other shoulder. He could tell Sasuke was getting annoyed as well. It was like this before, when they were in the Country of the Wave, working on garnering and controlling their energy. They were neck-to-neck again, and he was pleased to see that Sasuke was no longer just concentrating on masked boys as his rivals. He should also be worried about him, Uzumaki Naruto! He was no deadweight, and hell, he was going to give him a run for his money. When they day finally came that he would force all those villagers to no longer deny his very being, he could move on and not have to worry about Sasuke's superior comments anymore.  
This new train of thought cheered him up a bit. By the time he reached his solitary apartment on the edge of town, he was feeling better. Instead of dwelling on Sakura's recent tears and Sasuke's wintry attitude, he was looking forward to heating up some instant noodles and having some cocoa later. Ooh, even better, he would indulge himself in a super-hot bath.  
Today, he had decided to keep her keys hidden in a little upside-down bucket on the roof of his apartment roof, instead of worrying about dropping them somewhere during training. He lightly sprang up to the roof of his house to take up his keys. . .  
"Hmm?" he mumbled.  
There were footsteps in the snow atop his roof. Judging from the rate of the current snowfall, they had to have been made just now. Just before he reached the door of his apartment. He snatched up his keys and quickly glanced around. He couldn't sense anyone's presence and there was no other indication that anyone was around.  
Casting one last, lingering, paranoid glance all around, he jumped down and went inside.  
  
SAKURA  
  
Training was becoming monotonous for her. Even though she learned long ago that she was superior in controlling energy and detecting illusions, she was far behind her two teammates.  
*Even though I keep saying I'm in love with Sasuke, and I lecture and scold Naruto, and I act like a grown-up ninja, I am forever behind, watching their backs. They always protect me, because I can't even protect myself.*  
It was just so weird to Sakura that Sasuke was still so cold to her, but his fiery passions rose when bickering with Naruto. . .  
Sakura's hand-to-hand combat skills were unimpressive, so she was often left out of Sasuke and Naruto's teamwork. It wasn't that they wanted to exclude her on purpose, but they simply couldn't use her. She only knew three techniques, really--the replacement technique, the transformation technique, and the canceling technique. Those were merely basics. She didn't have as much energy and stamina as the other two. Even Naruto, who scored the lowest on the exams in the Academy, was somehow capable of executing the Shadow Transformation Technique, which was a high-class technique notably from a forbidden scroll. And even more strangely, Naruto's has had moments of surprising her. He was still standing on his two feet in the battle with the renegade masked boy while Sasuke was rendered unconscious. He also swiftly came up with a plan to free Kakashi sensei from the Hydro Prison that Zabuza used. Sakura knew there was something going on with Naruto, but she never seemed to care enough to inquire or investigate. That was strange. Strange not to care about one's own teammate.  
But the answer always seemed to lie within her love, Sasuke.  
How could she honestly care about anything when Sasuke was involved? She felt it was destiny, for a moment at least, when she was placed in the same group as him. Now, she could look back and see it as blind luck. All the other girls have intense feelings of adoration for Sasuke. Any of them could've said they were placed in the same team as Sasuke as a part of destiny. What nonsense.  
She was thinking about this as she was supposed to be falling asleep in bed. Her parents were long asleep-they were not ninjas, but honest, hard- working people who supported the ninja village with a successful grocery store. She didn't talk about her problems with anyone. Her best friend was now her rival. . . Ino.  
Sakura shook her head. She wasn't going to think about Ino. Too many memories.  
Plus, her two greatest friends and confidantes were supposed to be her teammates. Sasuke was in another world, thinking about things like avenging the deaths of his parents. Naruto hated Sasuke and was indifferent to many people, too concerned with his own dreams of becoming the number one ninja of the village. They would die for each other, but Sakura felt strangely alienated from them at times. This winter thus far was particularly bad. Their little rivalry took them to even greater heights, and she was once again left behind.  
That didn't bother her so much as the fact that they spent about two intense years together and she hadn't gotten anywhere with Sasuke.  
Was she really in love with him? She had to be, because she suffered all the disappointment and rejection in the world, yet her feelings persevered. The intensity only rose, so it must've been love. She was no masochist; she didn't like wasting time, even. These feelings were beyond her control, so it had to have been love.  
She mused with a small smile at some good memories. He had indirectly complimented her long hair once in the beginning--but it wasn't meant as a compliment, it was a mere observation. But still, she had grew out her hair with the intention of impressing him. Before his parents died, he was an OK kid. At that time, he had told a schoolmate that he liked girls with long hair. So, she grew out her cherry blossom-hued hair and wore Ino's red ribbon. The symmetrical hairline separated a pretty little head of glossy hair, revealing a vulnerable, broad forehead. Another time, he had complimented--or observed--her impressive detection skills for illusion.  
Sakura turned to her side.  
Lately, her fantasies about her and him as a ninja couple subsided. During the Academy days, she watched his impressive progress through all the classes and trials, seeing his rapid ascension above his peers. She no longer amused herself with self-aggrandizing fantasies of being his female match. She was in no way a match to him in sparring, or in any other area of being a ninja. But then, when she found out about his childhood trauma and his future dreams, she found new fuel for own musings. His first wish was to become stronger than the killer of his parent--and he would avenge his family. But also, his secondary mission in life was to revive his clan. He was the only survivor besides the killer. After he killed his brother, there would just be him. His clan could only survive if he continued the bloodline. In other words, he would most definitely marry.  
In many ways, Sasuke was a conventional guy. He would go through all the proper channels to ensure the legitimacy of the continuation of his clan. No bastard babies, no officially unrecognized marriages. By the end of the day, he will end up being a married man with a family. Sure, most of his designs were out of an extraordinary obligation, instead of a personal wish. But it would happen. Who would that wife be?  
She wouldn't mind terribly being his wife, even if she was only playing second fiddle, so to speak. In fact, she easily imagined him marrying someone docile, who looked up to him. She could be that person, as pathetic as that sounded. But when it came to him and her, they had their specialties, so to speak. They would protect each other to the death, but he was more of the guardian, wasn't he? She had settled into a position of assistance. She could assist him in achieving his dreams. She was a stable, nice girl from the same ninja village as him. She would help him make lots of babies.  
She grinned in the dark.  
Dreams were fun, sometimes.  
  
(1) I know these quotes are overdone in Naruto fanfiction, but it's done for a reason! They're great quotes! The order of the people who speaks these quotes: first Haku, then Sasuke, then Naruto.  
  
SASUKE  
  
Another ineffectual sun rose over the snowy village. Shops opened up, ninja business kicked in, all as usual. The previous day, the instructor for Team 07, Kakashi, informed his team where they were meeting. This time, they were fulfilling a minor mission in the woods, in a glade at the edge. An old, abandoned house was absolutely available for use, if one would just renovate it. A recent snowstorm orphaned quite a few children in a neighboring village. The village head decided to renovate this old house to give these newfound orphans shelter. This mission was going to last for a while.  
Sasuke gritted his teeth when he heard the news. Whenever they were assigned these sort of missions, he felt almost dizzy with anger. Everyone in the village knew about his situation, yet they were content with giving him these trifles to work over before guiding him to building better techniques and skills. Painting a house wasn't going to help him any faster.  
But these things were out of his hands. If he didn't play by their rules, they would easily dismiss him and he would then end up learning nothing. He wasn't going to end up like some exiled ninja, not like that. . .  
He wasn't going to think about that.  
The three showed up at the aforementioned forest glade at precisely eight o'clock. They waited.  
It was becoming no surprise that Kakashi was running late, again. It was becoming difficult to remember any times he was on time.  
Furthermore, Naruto even brought a scroll to read. This surprised his teammates. Usually, a young ninja would read a scroll in their free time, to turn idle hours into productive growth. On the contrary. this was Naruto. It was titled *Snow Falling on Cedars.* (2)  
Sasuke looked to Sakura next. Usually, he could detect her struggle between wanting to chat with him and wishing to appear nonchalant in front of him. She would make small comments here and there, trying not to be too obvious in attempting conversation. As time passed by, her teammates saw through these endeavors, but she persisted. Today, Naruto watched Sakura in the corner of his eye and became gruff. Naruto easily became annoyed whenever a girl paid attention to Sasuke. Actually, he was annoyed whenever Sasuke was admired.  
He wished he could feel the sun more. He closed his eyes, crossed his arms, and leaned against a tree. Waiting was another mode of training for him. His patience had been growing thin. He was still reasonably young to carry out his objectives, but these missions only succeeded in frustrating him. When could he allow himself to become normal again?  
Naruto was making all sorts of noises. Even when reading, he had to remind the world he existed. He hummed a tune from time to time, or tapped his foot against the ground, or shifted in his sitting position. Sometimes, he even made a loud sigh. Every now and then, he tore his eyes away from the scroll, flopped back onto his back to stare up at the sky for a few moments.  
"Give me a reason to show you," he suddenly sang out, staring at the sky. "Give me a reason to love you. Give me a reason why I should love you. Why should I care..?" (3)  
Sasuke opened up his eyes. He was so random, sometimes. That was a weird song to sing.  
Naruto obnoxiously yawned.  
Sakura rolled her eyes but crossed her arms and said nothing. She still wasn't entirely appreciative of Naruto's presence, but she was growing more tolerant as she learned more about her teammate.  
Naruto sniffed and opened up his eyes. He was completely still for a moment as he filled his vision full of blue and clouds. "Hey, guys."  
"What?" Sakura asked with a sigh. She squatted, folding her hands as she stared at the ground.  
"There was someone at my house yesterday."  
"Hmm?" Sakura said.  
"This is the second time that I know about. Yesterday and the day before. I found footsteps. Someone's been at my house right before I came back from training. Is that weird or what?"  
Sakura stared for a moment. "Are you sure?"  
"Yeah. Weird-ness. I don't even know how long this has been going on. I don't know what this person is doing. Just visiting the outside of my house while I'm not even there. Oh, well. I don't know. I think it will be stopping now."  
Sasuke suddenly pushed himself away from the tree. He started walking away from them.  
"Where are you going?" Sakura asked.  
"I'm going for a short walk," he answered tersely.  
After he disappeared from sight, Naruto said, "I think nature's calling. He's just out for a short piss." Sakura nodded.  
Sakura hugged her knees. "So why do you think the person will stop visiting?"  
Naruto covered his eyes with the back of his hand. The sunlight had made the insides of his eyelids red. "Ninja intuition," he responded with a wry grin.  
Sasuke returned about ten minutes later, in fear that he wouldn't be there when Kakashi finally arrived. In luck, he managed to return to the glade mere seconds before their sensei materialized.  
"Morning," he sang. He had paint cans in his hands. "On the way here, a boy's bike got broken, so I had to fix it. . ."  
"Lie," was Naruto and Sakura's sing-song rejoinder.  
"Don't say that," Kakashi lightly scolded them with crescent-shaped eyes. He was always silently laughing at them.  
Hands in pockets, Sasuke walked with his team and his instructor as they made their way further into the wood. The house appeared about seven minutes into their walk. It was a dilapidated, sad-looking old thing that seemed to have been flung aside from the beaten path as a mere afterthought. On the other hand, it was standing independently and sufficiently on its own, and it was considerable in size. It was two stories with a small attic at the top. Some of the windows were boarded up, while others remained untouched with the glass unbroken. Sasuke was surprised by its apparent endurance.  
"We can't properly paint this house," Sakura said. "With all the recent snowfall, the wood is still moist and most likely even soggy. We won't have a decent coat on the wood for a while, Teacher."  
Kakashi scratched his covered chin. "Right, Sakura." He turned to his team. "Sorry, guys. I've been preoccupied with some important business. I haven't been thinking or preparing for your missions at all. And this is our first mission for a while, since we've been training so much. . ." He noticed Sakura's sigh of relief and dismay.  
Sasuke offered, "Why don't we renovate it from the inside first then? Today, we can inspect the building and make a list of materials that we need. Then, we can go into the village, buy the materials, and ask for reimbursement."  
Kakashi pointed up with a finger. "Good idea, Sasuke. Even better yet, I will give you the money for the things." He fished his pocket and handed Sakura a considerable amount of money. "I trust you guys. I'll ask for reimbursement later."  
"You're not staying?" Sakura asked.  
"No, I think I can leave you three to this mission," Kakashi said. "Simple enough, right?"  
The three of them nodded. The autonomy was actually making this mission more attractive.  
"I'm going to take care of this other business," Kakashi said. "Ah, I will check up on the house tomorrow afternoon and see what you've done with it. It should at least be cleaned up or repaired to a certain extent. You can't leave until I show up!"  
When he said this, Sakura and Naruto face-faulted. Knowing their beloved instructor, Kakashi would probably make them wait until dinnertime.  
  
(1) The novel by David Guterson. Hey, it's less boring than reading about some shinobi technique. (2) Utada Hikaru's "Give Me a Reason." Hey, why not? 


	2. Q&A

WINTER STORY  
  
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto, but Mr. Kishimoto Masashi sure does. This story has been fabricated only for recreational purposes, and no monetary gain is produced from it. In other words: no point in suing, right???  
  
NOTE: Sorry about a couple of errors that appeared in the first chapter. "Jay" and "Jen" are two characters from another story I'm working on-and coincidentally, they're somewhat similar to Sasuke and Saskura. That's most likely why I accidentally inserted their names into this fanfic (in my heroin-induced haze). So embarrassing! *Clutches hands to face.* But I fixed those mistakes in the first chapter, plus I also tried to make up for some of the bland formatting.  
  
CHAPTER TWO  
  
NARUTO  
  
Fingers laced together, hands behind head, Naruto jauntily ambled slightly ahead of his two other teammates on their way into the village. Today, not even the crappy weather was bothering him, and they could take a break from training, which was constant for a couple of months now. Behind him, he could hear Sakura make an inquiring noise and say, "Mm, Sasuke? What's the matter?"  
Naruto felt that weird, strange twinge tweak at that pumping organ in his ribcage called a heart, when he heard Sasuke's name. It was probably because he hated the boy so much.  
Sasuke took his time in answering, which was typical.  
"Hmm. It's only Kakashi's business. He's never neglected his duties as sensei before. What's so important that he decided to quit instruction for today?" His voice was full of suspicion.  
*How annoying,* Naruto thought. Sasuke always had to talk big about something.  
"He's probably just working on some jounin-level decisions, Sasuke!" Naruto said, sounding enervated. "Who cares? Let's just get this boring crap over with!" For some reason, Naruto almost felt like he could detect two narrowed eyes glaring holes into the back of his head.  
The three already finished inspecting the house. Sakura was the one to figure out all the details for the shopping. Yet, the walk back to the village was at a leisurely pace and they didn't feel like they were on a mission--probably due to Kakashi's absence.  
  
The shopping area of Konoha Village was business as usual. As they entered the district, Sakura patted Naruto on the shoulder and pointed at the Hokage Memorial. "Naruto! Hey, doesn't the Fourth kind of look like you? You have the same hair!"  
Naruto narrowed his eyes into slits and observed the Fourth Hokage's visage. As a matter of fact, she was right. . . He felt a strange tremor. He remembered looking up to the Fourth for saving the village from the Kyubi, the demon fox. Suddenly, Naruto felt a strange sense of unease. He abruptly saw a flash of a foggy bridge and multiple icy mirrors. . .  
"Naruto ni-chan!" a young voice cried out from behind them.  
There was only one kid in the Hidden Leaf Village who addressed Naruto as "older brother."  
"Ah. . . Konohamaru," Naruto greeted. He cheesed at the young kid.  
Behind the grandson of the Hokage were his two affiliates.  
"Ni-chan?" Sakura inquired, switching her glance from the boy to Naruto.  
"Sakura-chan, this is Konohamaru," Naruto said. He pointed to a little girl with an unusual hairstyle and large blush dots on her cheeks. "And this is--"  
The girl suddenly struck a pose. "The one who possesses the sex appeal of an adult, and the female ninja from the senior group, Moegi!"  
"Uh, and this is--"  
The third one of the young triad, a boy with round glasses, hunched himself into an unconvincing posture and said, "The one who loves dividing numbers, Udon." A silver tendril of snot was escaping one of his nostrils.  
Naruto looked annoyed. He turned to Sakura. "I play with these brats." He jumped when he looked at her face. "What? Why are you looking at me like that?"  
Sakura's eyes widened and she shook her head. "Oh. Nothing. It's just- -" She stopped and Naruto cocked his head at her. "Oh, it's just nice that you take time out to play with them. That's all."  
"Hmm?"  
Meanwhile, Konohamaru's eyes shifted from the cute, pink-haired girl to the sullen-looking young man in dark blue. His hands were pocketed and he was staring at Naruto.  
"Who's that guy?" Konohamaru asked, pointing at Sasuke.  
"Hmm?" Naruto said. He peered over at his other teammate. "Oh, him. He's a baka [idiot]! The kind of guy who always needs help." He said this with confidence, but he knew instantly that Sasuke was going to return with a rebuttal.  
As guaranteed.  
"Total moron," Sasuke muttered. "*You're* the one who always gets in the way." Naruto didn't react like he usually would. He thought about how Sasuke stepped in the path of harm to prevent Naruto from getting killed. Or at least they both thought at the time that Haku was serious about killing them. Naruto felt a pang of guilt as he recollected his awe- inspiring rage from seeing Sasuke's lifeless body, and his pain when he felt Sakura run past him to see Sasuke. On that bridge.  
"Naruto ni-chan. Is this your rival?" Konohamaru asked with interest.  
Breaking out of his thoughts swiftly, Naruto grinned as a reflex. "Yes. You can say that."  
Udon, from behind Konohamaru, suddenly flipped out a notepad. "Please, can you three answer our questions for the school newspaper? Our article is about 'teamwork!' "  
The three looked at one another, not sure. But Naruto beat the other two to a reply. "Ah, I guess. But make it quick, OK?" he said. He knew he couldn't say 'no' to these kids.  
  
SAKURA  
  
It was a bit of a pleasant surprise that Naruto was a sort of an older brother to these kids. *Come to think of it,* she thought, *he is the number one ninja in surprising.* She remembered experiencing this odd feeling when she witnessed Naruto coming up with that plan against Zabuza to free Kakashi from the Hydro Prison Technique. It was one of Naruto's rare, genuinely *cool* moments.  
Unfortunately, she was paired up with Konohamaru. And she wasn't liking his line of questioning.  
"So what kind of relationship do you have with Naruto ni-chan?" he asked.  
"Oh?" She was taken aback by his question. "Why, we're teammates, of course." She paused. "We're friends, too."  
Konohamaru suddenly bared a toothy grin that was Naruto-esque in nature. "How long have you been *friends*?"  
Sakura made a face. The little boy's emphasis on "friends" was too obvious. "We're *only* friends. What has Naruto told you?!"  
From behind her, she could hear Naruto tell in his confident voice to Udon, "Ah, well you know, our missions are classified and very dangerous. I would tell you about them, but you'd probably have nightmares about exiled ninjas!"  
A little further away from Naruto, she could hear Moegi lose her professional, journalistic cool as she screamed, "Stupid-head! What's wrong with natou [fermented bean curd]?! It's so delicious and my mom makes it all the time!"  
Sakura giggled at the sight of Sasuke's irritated expression. Nevertheless, he patiently answered the girl's question. "I don't like the smell and taste. And how it's so sticky and stays in your mouth forever. I can't take that." (1)  
"Hmm?" Moegi said. Suddenly, her face changed to child-like wickedness. "Ano sa [well then], what did the kiss with Naruto taste like? Natou? Lemon?" she queried.  
Sasuke looked lost in thought. "Hmm. . . like Miso, I guess. . . I mean. . . like I remember! Damn Naruto, why would he do something like that?" (2) His face suddenly lost its blankness and it gave way to aggravation. Moegi giggled.  
Sakura felt a tugging at her dress. It was Konohamaru. "Hey! I asked what you guys did when you were away. I remember Naruto ni-chan was away for a few days. . . was it a mission?"  
"Oh, yes," she responded. "We were at the Country of the Wave, on a C- ranked mission. We were protecting someone, er, I guess that's all you need to know?"  
"Protecting someone! Wow! Did you get into any battles?"  
"Ah. Quite a few," she answered unenthusiastically, recalling all the trouble that was in the Country of the Wave.  
"Did Naruto ni-chan save anybody's life?!" Konohamaru asked, absolutely excited. His face faltered a bit from disappointment. "I ask because he wouldn't really talk about it."  
Sakura was not entirely surprised by that. They had suffered much, and almost lost much. "Uh, well," she began, uncertain. She thought for a moment. Actually, she wasn't sure what happened in the final battle against Haku. Nobody in Team 07 discussed or recapped what had happened on the bridge with each other. Kakashi didn't ask any questions. Neither Sasuke nor Naruto made any comments about it. Well, that's a little strange.  
"Well, we all looked after each other," she finally responded in an honest spirit. "We handled our battles, but we were always looking out for one another. That's the spirit of a team," she said lamely, suddenly feeling a jolt of her own helplessness. She remembered distinctly how little she did any of the fighting. *Well, at least I was concerned for them when I was standing in front of the old man the whole time,* she thought sullenly.  
She suddenly caught adrift of the ongoing interrogation between Moegi and Sasuke.  
"So. . . like, do you like Sakura-chan? How do you feel about her?" Sakura looked at Moegi. The girl's large dots were growing on her face. *Ha, just like every other girl in this entire village, she's falling for him,* was Sakura's bittersweet thought.  
"I think of Sakura as an important comrade. . . since she's helped me out a lot," he added quickly. (3)  
Sakura didn't know what to make of that.  
"And Naruto?" Moegi asked. "He sees you as a rival but what about you?"  
"Naruto. . . eh?" This time, he took his time in answering. Then he responded slowly, as if he were answering more himself than Moegi. "At first I thought he was just a moron who gets in the way but frankly he's been impressing me lately--just a bit," he added quickly, catching himself. (4)  
"My favorite is miso, of course! And I like lots of pork, too." (5) Sakura looked to Naruto. He was pleasant as usual. . . but she still could not be that interested in his answers as she was in Sasuke's.  
  
SASUKE  
  
Hours later in the day, the three were in the old house again. It was around four o' clock. Soon, it would be dark as it was a time of short winter days.  
After their grueling interviews and shopping for materials, they settled into their tasks inside the house. Naruto excitedly swept the floors, only to incite a dust cloud that nearly suffocated them all. From time to time, Sasuke noticed Naruto glaring at him, either waiting for a chance to pounce on his rival or observing his rival's progress. He remembered Naruto growling something about "not letting Sasuke take all the good parts."  
Sasuke, by this point, secretly enjoyed pissing off the obnoxious shinobi. It made things more interesting, at least.  
Sakura would hum from time to time, during her job in beautifying the little shack. He noticed her sometimes watching him, too, although she had an expression entirely different from Naruto's.  
So, was the girl in love or what? What nonsense. Those girls from the Academy could never understand. . .  
How could he even entertain thoughts of adolescent romance when he wasn't even close to achieving his pledges, his promises?  
Uchiha Itachi, Sasuke's older brother, graduated the Academy at the top of his class at the age of seven. He became a Chuunin a mere two years later at the age of nine, and then he was promoted to an ANBU captain when he was thirteen. And then Itachi killed their parents at the age of seventeen. . .  
Sasuke shook his head. This was ridiculous. When Itachi was his age, he was an ANBU captain. And the so-called genius clan ninja, Uchiha Sasuke, at this moment in time, was cleaning house.  
He suddenly noticed Naruto's presence by his side. Apparently, Naruto was trying to get his attention for a few seconds. "Uh, Sasuke?" the boy asked awkwardly.  
Sasuke couldn't bring himself to even look at him. He was too full of emotion, clutching broken pieces of furniture in his fists.  
"What. . . are you thinking about?" Naruto asked stupidly.  
". . . My brother. . ." Sasuke barely heard himself say. He kept seeing red Sharingan eyes burning in his mind.  
Naruto's cornflower eyes widened. He remembered Sasuke mention his brother when Haku placed Sasuke in a near-death state. Naruto recalled. . . Sasuke's brother killed off his clan.  
He didn't know what to say at that moment.  
Sasuke stared at the furniture bits in his hands. Was he going to feel this way forever? All this intensity directed at nothing in particular, his frustration clinging to him in some sick aura?  
And Naruto. He looked at Naruto. The yellow-haired boy looked lost and a little sad, which was rare.  
*It's probably because he's had such an irregular childhood.*  
*Oh yeah, you know he doesn't have parents, right?*  
*That's why he's so selfish.*  
He suddenly remembered Sakura's comments about Naruto's reckless behavior. She didn't understand. . . she didn't know that was just how Naruto handled his placement in life, without his parents.  
*The solitude. . . You can't even compare it to the level of where your parents get mad at you.*  
It had made him so angry. The villagers didn't understand what it was like to go to an empty home and then see your classmates with their parents. Every year, there were plenty of families moving together at village festivals. There were kids who complained about their parents all around him.  
*So, I am selfish too,* he thought. *Selfish with my desire to kill that man. Naruto is selfish with his wild dreams of becoming Hokage, too. We orphans make up a selfish lot. Sakura, why do you want to be in this kind of crowd?*  
Suddenly, he snapped out of his thoughts and glared at Naruto. He did it again. He'd done it before with Sakura, when he talked about his pain briefly.  
*Only I can kill that man.*  
*That time, I was crying. . .*  
*I am an avenger.*  
Sometimes, he suddenly would be lost in thought while talking to Sakura--now Naruto this time--and he would zone out, and release a sliver of his pain. He had to stop showing this weakness.  
Talking to yourself was a bad side effect of constant loneliness.  
"Sasuke-kun," Sakura suddenly said loudly. Her voice quivered. "What-- what do you mean by that?"  
"What are you talking about?" Sasuke asked sharply. He whipped his head around to look at her.  
"I mean. . . You said, 'Sakura, why do you want to be in this kind of crowd?' " Her eyes shook. "What are you saying? I don't belong in this ninja team?" She shook her head and she suddenly looked as if she were about to cry. "Sasuke-kun! What did you mean?"  
  
(1) This is an actual question and answer from the *Naruto Fanbook.* This was from Sasuke's interview. I think the question came from a fan and then Kishimoto answered it as he imagined the character would! The translation was found on the website "Toriyama World," . (2) This question and answer comes from the same source as the first! Quite a thought-provoking answer, eh? *Wink, wink.* (3) Same source as (1) and (2). (4) Same source. (5) From Naruto's interview in the same book. 


End file.
